CSIRO, Australia's largest public research agency, has changed appreciably over the past three decades as the social, economic, political and technological environment has changed. In this paper, we address five areas of change, namely the nature of the Organisation's research, its research funding allocation, its patterns of collaboration, the way it transfers technology and its role in the national innovation scene. We look at some of the pressures leading to change and at the implications of our analysis for the future. CSIRO is no longer the dominant player in Australian science and innovation as other players, notably in the higher education sector, have grown and, despite its undoubted importance as a reservoir of scientific talent and its major scientific and commercial achievements, much uncertainty about its national role remains.